NEET Controversy, Mismanagement & Repeated Paper Leaks Hit Study In India Programme

On Thursday night, the Union government announced the appointment of Naresh Pal Gangwar, a 1994-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre, as Secretary, Department of Higher Education.

Gangwar will take over from the incumbent Vineet Joshi, who will now move to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

Four months ago, the appointment would not have attracted much attention. But with repeated scandals, including paper leaks and technical glitches in other examinations, the news hit headlines.

Along with him, T.K. Anil Kumar, Additional Secretary, Department of Rural Development, was appointed as Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, which, too, is under the Ministry of Education.

Number Of Students Aspiring To Become Doctors

The number of medical colleges in India has increased from 387 in 2014 to 819 at present. The demand for medical professionals has been galloping in India, but so has the exodus of students.

In 2025, as per data available provided on the NEET website, a total of 1,41,0755 candidates took the entrance exam out of the registered 1,51,9375. Of these, as many as 11,45,976 cleared the examination.

This year, a total of 11,21,185 candidates qualified in the retest that was conducted on June 21.

Study In India Programme: Still A Distant Dream

With the aim to simplify its soft power, the Centre rolled out the Study in India (SII) programme. It was launched by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in 2019 to attract foreign students to top institutes. However, little has been achieved.

“Very few people come to study medicine despite repeated attempts. Clearly, India does not feature in the list of foreign students, and this is a sad reflection of things, as the quality of doctors that the country produces is top-notch,” a practising doctor at a government hospital told The Secretariat.

Reasons are multiple: intense competition and regulatory issues, as well as uncertainties in the examination procedure.

Compare this to China. Beijing provides easier access to students opting for medicine. Though there are no official estimates, data suggests that China receives about 65,000 to 70,000 medical students.

Exodus Of Indian Students

Not only are foreign students who wish to study medicine shying away from coming to the country, but a large number of Indians are opting for other destinations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after winning his third term in Parliament, underlined the need to increase the number of medical colleges to provide the necessary education and training to a larger number of students aspiring to become doctors. “Around 25,000 youths go abroad every year for medical education. Therefore, we have decided that in the next five years, 75,000 new seats will be created in the medical field," he said on Independence Day in 2024.

According to data furnished in Parliament in 2024, India’s doctor-population ratio stood at around 1:811. While the government said this is better than the World Health Organization (WHO) standard of 1:1000, a large number of them belong to the Ayush category.  

A large number of students who wish to study medicine choose countries in Europe, besides Russia, along with other Central Asian destinations such as Georgia, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan, and even Southeast Asia. That apart, the US, Canada, and China remain top favourites as well.

Reason? Easier and hassle-free admission, high quality of education, and relatively lower cost.

“Mismanagement and discrepancies, not only in the admission procedure but also in education, have become common here; and this problem extends to states as well, pushing students to opt for other countries,” a doctor who returned to practise in the country said.

Government Promises Action

Following massive protests and outrage over the paper leak scandal, Modi, through a video message, assured strict action against the culprits with the setting up of fast-track courts to deal with the problem.

NEET paper leaks have been repeatedly happening: in 2021, 2024, and once again in 2026.

Although the government enacted the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Law in 2024 to tackle this issue, the problem continued. “We cannot allow the meritorious to be sacrificed at the altar of such organised crimes or self-centred elements in this society," Union Minister Jitendra Singh said in Parliament then.

Clearly, this is an area that needs more attention.